


Remains

by AsagiStilinski



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Zombies, Alternate Universe- Werewolves are still a thing, Apocalypse, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Werewolf Stiles Stilinski, Zombie Apocalypse, Zombies, sbzombies, sterekbingo, sterekbingo2018
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-05
Updated: 2018-05-05
Packaged: 2019-05-02 09:33:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,518
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14541795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AsagiStilinski/pseuds/AsagiStilinski
Summary: Stiles remembered what it was like before the world ended, he thought about it every night as he polished his gun and sharpened his blades, he thought about the people he missed, the people he was desperate to find, and the person he had been lucky enough to keep along the way, he hoped that he would be able to keep more people than he ultimately loses





	Remains

**Author's Note:**

> I had waaaaaaay too many ideas for this theme so honestly it kinda just... ended up like this, if that makes sense? I hope you enjoy it <3

Stiles remembered what it was like before

It wasn't as long ago as it felt

Or atleast, he assumed it wasn't, but there was no real way to tell time out here and he had lost count after the first month anyway, so ...

It was probably just as well, what was the point in keeping track of how much time you spend in hell? It's better off a blurr, so you can atleast lie to yourself and say that it hasn't been that long, lie to yourself and say that there's still hope somewhere out there

He wasn't sure how much hope he had left, only that he had wasted more time than he was expressly willing to admit

But the point was, he remembered

He remembered down to the day it had all happened, as a matter of fact...

\--

**73 days ago....**

\--

"Ah hell.... again?"

This was the third time in the last two weeks that Stiles had gotten his neighbor's mail and he was starting to get a little irritated about it

Not that he really minded it sure, any excuse to talk to his favorite neighbor was always a good excuse to talk to his favorite neighbor, but that didn't mean he wasn't still hopefull that sooner rather than later they would get the right mail slot....

It actually kind of concerned him, because if they kept giving him his neighbor's mail, it made him worry that someone else- probably one of his other neighbors- may have his

That was really not a thought that he needed in his head, that some of his mail may have ended up with one of his neighbors who wasn't as willing to come forward as he was with this guy's....

He shook the thought out of his head, making his way up to the third floor and approaching his neighbor's apartment

He tapped on the door, swaying slightly as he waited and smiling when the door finally opened, revealing his neighbor, who was currently clad in nothing but sweat pants and a t-shirt

"I got your mail again,"

"Oh, thanks,"

Stiles only nodded, offering a smile to his neighbor as the older man reached out and took the small stack of envelopes from him

"No problem, you know, I really should call the post office some time in the immediate future, this is starting to get beyond bad,"

His neighbor only gave a quiet noise of approval and started back towards his kitchen, fingering through his mail absently

"You know, I was just making some brownies if you want to stay and have any,"

Stiles felt a small grin tug at his lips, his heart leaping at the invitation

He may or may not have something of a crush on his neighbor

"Y-Yeah, that sounds great,"

The other man gave a small smirk over his shoulder at the brunette behind him

"You want something to drink?"

"Yeah, soda if you have it?"

"Coke ok?"

"Definitely,"

So today was clearly going alot better than he first thought it would

....

Until he stepped over towards the TV, and then suddenly the happy, somewhat giddy feeling in his chest began to sink, replaced by something ... much, much worse....

"Hey... Derek?"

_"Yeah?"_ the older man called from the kitchen

"Have you been watching the news?"

_"No, I've been baking... why?"_

Stiles swallowed, his fingers tightly grasping onto the back of the couch as he stared at the emergency taper that was running across the bottom of the screen

"You may want to see this...."

_**"ATTENTION: Emergency quarantine for the following cities: Riverdale, Greendale, Domino, Beacon Hills, Rosewood-"** _

\--

**Present**

\--

Since it started, Stiles had gotten pretty good at playing with sharp objects

He had never been the most brilliant with weapons- not conventional weapons atleast, he'd always been good with a baseball bat though, he used to keep one under his bed for emergencies that never happened- but since all of this began things like guns and blades and even arrows became like another hand to him

Arrows probably the least, blades probably the most, guns settled in the middle

He still did the best with baseball bats though

He liked to practice his skills by flipping a butterfly nife, over and over, in various tricks and positions, gaining complication with each new spin

He never cut himself

He never dropped it

Dropping it could result in death

\--

**59 days ago....**

\--

"Freaking hell!!" Stiles screamed, panting loudly as he took a stumbling step back, wiping his forehead with the back of his wrist and biting down hard on his lip

He still wasn't used to this

It had been... it had been over a week now since the invasion of dead started but he still wasn't used to this, he wasn't used to any of this....

His hands were shaking as he turned around, cursing under his breath at the sight of yet another zombie coming his way

He stepped forward, stabbing it in the head with ease and jerking the blade out, but as he turned to go after another one, he momentarily lost his grip and felt the nife slide out of his hand

His heart nearly skipped a beat as he rushed to grab the blade before it hit the ground, but he was too late, the metal hit the ground and Stiles had no choice but to dive after it

He scrambled to get to the blade, panic shooting through him by the gallons as he tried to get to the weapon, his eyes welling up with tears, his entire body shaking like a leaf as he felt the breath of the undead creature drip down onto his neck

They didn't breathe, sure, but they groaned and grunted and grumbled and that was enough

He finally managed to get his fingers wrapped around the handle of the blade, but before he could turn around and get to the thing that was hurriedly pawing at him and trying to get a bite-

***BANG***

\--

**Present day...**

\--

He slowly set the butterfly nife down on the ground next to him, staring up at the stars and feeling his fingers twitch with the urge to... to do... _something_

Scavenge, hunt, fight, kill, run, _move_

He had such little actual peace lately and having a quiet moment was so foreign that now that he finally had it he didn't know what to do with it

He didn't know how to handle it

He swallowed tightly, biting the inside of his lip, trying to calm himself down

He needed to calm down

He _had_ to

If he started getting anxious he would make a mistake and then-

_*snap*_

He jerked up immediately, grabbing his gun from where it rested beside him and aiming it towards the woods, his eyes hard and steady, waiting for whoever- or whatever- was lurking in the forest to come out

\--

**59 days ago...**

\--

"Are you ok?"

Well that was certainly a loaded question

Swallowing tightly, Stiles gave a small, slow nod and stared up at the man above him, blinking back the panicked tears that were threatening to spill out and forcing himself to his feet

"Yeah... other than being covered in rotted corpse guts," he replied with a slight huff, taking a quick glance around to make sure that the road was clear before pocketing his blade

"Next time I save your life I'll try to mind your clothes," his companion snorted, shoving his gun back in the holster

"Yeah you do that," Stiles teased back, reaching out to gently pat him on the shoulder and pausing, letting his hand linger, inhaling slow and deep, before smiling with honest gratitude at the other

"Seriously though.... thanks Derek,"

Derek nodded slowly, patting him once on the shoulder as well

"Yeah... no problem,"

\--

**Present day....**

\--

"Don't shoot, it's just me,"

Stiles released a quiet sigh of releif, setting the gun down and rubbing the back of his neck as he watched his companion emerge from the woods

"Find anything good?"

Derek gave something of a shrug, setting a backpack down in front of him

"Ish, believe it or not, I actually stumbled across some blackberry bushes, I took as many as I could but I didn't find anything else,"

"That's alright, it's something, and we still have some food from last week," Stiles agreed with a slow nod, hurriedly opening the bag and pulling out a small fistfull of blackberries

It was too bad that they didn't have any way of lining the bag to protect it from the sticky berry juice, they'd have to wash it alot sooner rather than later at this rate

"Yeah, it's something ... but we'll have to find another place to search tommorrow, we don't have enough to get through more than another few days,"

Stiles nodded again, popping a blackberry into his mouth and letting himself savor the taste, letting himself have a moment of peace, as short-lived as it was

\--

**46 days ago....**

\--

The sound of birds chirping woke him for the morning

The sun was shining far too brightly for his taste so he instinctively curled closer into the nice, warm darkness beside him, inhaling peacefully as the scent of his partner flooded through him

Even after all this, he still smelled like the forest

Like trees and a summer breeze and mist on a hot afternoon

It was pleasant and comforting and something that he had very much grown accustomed to after all this time

He closed his eyes as he felt Derek's fingers start to trail gently through his hair, the wonderfull drag of sleepiness starting to tug at his brain

It was morning and they should be getting up soon but he couldn't be bothered

He couldn't be bothered to care

If they both died right here, right now, like this, then it would be the best way to go- and far better than anything else this world had to offer now

He tangled his legs up between Derek's, letting himself slowly fall back into sleep

It was a luxury that was all too rare these days

\--

**Present day...**

\--

When Stiles woke the next morning, it was cool outside

It was early morning sure, that was part of it, but it was cooler than usual

Fall was coming, he could feel it in the air, he could feel it in his bones

He stretched out a little, his bones creaking under his skin as he slowly sat up and rubbed the back of his neck

It was only then that he realized that he was alone, confusion marring his face as he looked around the tent

Yep, he was alone alright...

He could feel anxiety start to tighten in the pit of his stomach, panic lighting through his veins again as he stumbled to his feet and forced his way out of the tent, having hoped to see Derek outside packing up camp or making breakfast or something

...

His hopes were unrealized

This wasn't good, this was far, FAR from good

The last time Derek had gone missing on him like this, it had almost been the end of everything

\--

**33 days ago....**

\--

His heart was pounding his hands tight around the bat, creeping slowly around the corner and peering around the tree

How in the hell Derek had managed to find himself in this situation was still utterly _beyond_ him, but ...

He couldn't be bothered to think about all of that right now, he needed to keep his head clear, he needed to stay focused

He watched as the man paced around, back and forth, in front of his partner, like a lion pacing around in a cage, just waiting on someone stupid enough to open the door so he could pounce

Derek was on the ground, on his nees, but he seemed more or less alright, if not a little bloody and bruised

Those would heal soon enough though, Stiles knew, they always did

The man in front of Derek wasn't actually all that tall or intimidating, not physically anyway, but he had this ... air about him

This air of confidence, of security, of malice, of complete freaking sociopathy

He looked like he would have been a serial killer, before all of this started

He just as well may have been

Stiles didn't waste any more time

The second the cocky guy with the- .. was that.. a barbed wire bat...?- the bat turned around, Stiles charged, his bat aimed for the guy's head

Unfortunately though, the other man was too quick, he turned around immediately, blocking Stiles' attack with his own bat

"Well well, who do we have here?" the older man grinned- sickening and twisted, making Stiles' stomach churn

He didn't answer, he didn't say anything at all, instead he merely clenched his teeth, his eyes glowing gold as he flicked out his claws and jammed them forward, stabbing into the stranger's stomach and twisting

\--

**Present day...**

\--

"Derek!? Derek where the hell are you!?"

He knew he shouldn't be screaming

He shouldn't be shouting

He shouldn't be making all this noise, it would attract the dead, but....

But he was desperate to find Derek and that desperation was more than enough to drive him over the edge

More than enough to drive him past the point of caring about what he should do, what he shouldn't do, what was safe, what was unsafe...

He couldn't care less as long as he could find Derek

"Stiles! What the hell is the matter with you?"

He never thought he'd be so happy to get snapped at, but he breathed an enormous sigh of releif, eyes fluttering shut for just a breif moment before turning around and locking eyes with his lover

"Why are you being so loud? You'll attract the dead- or worse,"

"You were gone," Stiles sneered lowly, his releif quickly replaced by anger as he started marching forward, towards the other, his heart pounding in his chest and his body practically shaking with the emotional upheaval

"What happened to _'You don't go, I don't go'_?"

A look of guilt breifly touched against Derek's face, clearly seeing why his partner was so upset

"Sorry, I heard a weird noise earlier and didn't want to wake you, besides, I'd hoped that you would have gotten more used to your enhanced senses by now and would have been able to pick up on my location by now,"

Stiles wrinkled his nose in slight irritation, but he couldn't really blame Derek completely

He had overreacted, he had panicked, and he really needed to get ahold of that

"So what happened?" he asked absently, watching Derek's lips twitch upwards as he hauled two enormous dufflebags over his shoulder and plopped them down in front of his companion

To say Stiles was surprised was putting it mildly

"Where the hell did this come from?"

"I found a highway not far from here, a bunch of abandoned cars, most of them had already been picked through but one of them had a hatchback and... voila,"

"Wow, sniff this out did ya' Spot?" Stiles teased, grabbing one of the bags and heaving it over his shoulder

Derek rolled his eyes, elbowing him playfully as he grabbed the other bag to set over his own shoulder, getting started on the way back to camp

"There's some pretty good stuff in here, I still think we should set out soon though, so that we don't run so low on food again, but I've bought us a few days atleast,"

Stiles nodded slowly, following his companion back through the woods and falling breifly quiet, his voice low and soft when he spoke again

"So.... a highway, huh?"

Derek paused, just for a moment, his own voice low and soft when he finally answered

"I didn't see any patrol cars,"

That was unsurprising, but Stiles was still filled with the same, weird mix of releif and disappointment as he always was

Relieved that they hadn't found proof of death

Disappointed that they hadn't found proof of anything at all

\--

**26 days ago...**

\--

"HELL!!!"

The sound of the wrench hitting the windsheild radiated out around them, it hung in the air like a phantom, and he knew that it would attract the dead sooner or later

"It isn't his.... it isn't his..."

Part of him, he knew, should be relieved

The patrol car they had found practically wrapped around a streetlamp wasn't his father's

He should be relieved, and for the most part he was

It meant that he could keep believing that his dad was alive out there, somewhere, and they just hadn't found him yet

But after all these days of searching, the endless weeks of feeling his heart clench at every single cop car, every sheriff's badge, every sight of anything that even remotely hinted at an officer's presence, that might possibly be mistaken for his father...

It hurt

It was painfull

He just wanted to find him so badly.... so badly that it was killing him inside

He felt Derek's hand gently place against his shoulder, squeezing softly as the other man bent down to the opening of the car where Stiles was currently sitting, in the destroyed seat, staring down in irritation at the **Sunnydale County** I.D. badge in is hands

"We'll find him," Derek promised quietly, his free hand reaching out to gently squeeze Stiles' wrist in assurance

"I promise,"

Stiles just hoped that he was right

\--

**Present day...**

\--

"Should we follow the highway, when we leave? Or should we try to stick to the woods?"

Derek glanced up from the gun he was loading, shrugging slightly before turning his attention back to the task at hand

"Depends on what the goal is I guess, do you have a preference?"

Stiles only went quiet for a moment, his focus on the can of peaches he was trying to open

"I want to take the highway,"

It wasn't a surprise, he was sure

Since they started this .. life... together- if one could even call it that- there had only been one goal in mind, and so far they hadn't even gotten close to accomplishing it

"Alright," Derek promised, spinning the chamber of the gun before snapping it into place

"Highway it is,"

\--

**68 days ago....**

\--

"We have to find my dad,"

He knew that Derek was watching him, he just couldn't figure out why the other man wasn't moving

He, personally, was in the middle of packing a bag

As much as he could stuff in there, as many necessities as possible

He needed to be ready, he needed to be prepared...

"Stiles... I know how important this is to you but... we're still under quarantine..."

"Oh please, you and I both know that things have gone too far to hell for any of that to matter anymore, the government is down, everything is in chaos, and we can't keep sitting here waiting for a miracle!"

He needed another bag... maybe Derek had one in his closet

It was worth a try to look so he sprinted into the bedroom and made his way to the closet, his eyes scanning for any kind of bag that would work, preferably a backpack

"That isn't what's happening, but you don't even know where your dad _is_ now, you said that he had gone to Domino City for business right? He could be _anywhere_ between here and there, do you know how long-"

"I don't care!!" Stiles screamed, finally finding a suitable bag and yanking it down from the shelf it was resting on

"I don't care Derek, I don't care if it's unsafe, I don't care if I die trying, I have to find him, I have to make sure he's ok!"

Derek went quiet for a moment, watching as the other man scrambled back towards the kitchen and feeling his eyes fall downcast as he followed

"Then I'm coming with you,"

Stiles paused, his hand frozen in front of the shelf he had been reaching towards, before shrugging off the suggestion and grabbing the can of soup in front of him

"No, you're not, you're safe here, there's no rea-"

"You really think going alone is a good idea?" Derek frowned tensely, his nose wrinkling in irritation

"I'm going with you weather you like it or not, besides, you aren't the only one with family out there, my sister Cora is in college, she lives in Riverdale, I haven't heard from her in two days,"

That was understandable, phone lines had started going down, especially cell lines...

It was how Stiles had lost communication with his dad, or atleast, he hoped that was how...

"You really want to do this?" he asked quietly, almost skeptically

Derek gave a firm nod, crossing his arms over his chest

"We need to stick together, being alone is ... practically a death sentence, one way or another, we can't be alone,"

"Agreed," Stiles nodded, holding his hand out towards the other man

"You don't leave me, I don't leave you, deal?"

Derek gave a quick nod as well, clasping his hand firmly against Stiles' and giving it a hard shake

"Deal,"

\--

**Present day....**

\--

It wasn't that they never came across other people

In fact, they did

But... that wasn't always a good thing

Sometimes the people they met were freindly, good, kind people

They never stuck around long, either because of splitting apart from the two of them, or because of death

That had mostly been in the beginning though, kind people weren't around much anymore, and Derek and Stiles tried to steer clear of people in general anyway, unless there was even the slightest possibility that they had a lead to finding their missing loved ones

Good people were rare, but they happened sometimes

And then there were other times

Unfortunately, bad people were alot easier to find these days than good

"God..." Stiles breathed, peering into the abandoned car in front of them, his heart clenching slightly

The driver was a young woman, or atleast... she had been

Her throat had been slashed, there was still dried blood and the obviousness of a gash sliced across there

Someone must have already scavenged the car, considering that there was also a bullet hole in her forehead, that would stop her from turning but... he had a feeling the slash across her throat wasn't for the same reason

"Come on," Derek insisted quietly, very gently wrapping his arm around Stiles' shoulders and tugging him away from the car

"We need to keep going,"

Keep going

No matter how discouraged you were or how much it hurt or what made you feel like you'd be better off standing still, you always had to keep going

That was the true curse of this world

Not the death, not the destruction or the collapse or the disease

But the will, even after all of that, to ... to just keep going

\--

**33 days ago...**

\--

The bat cracked down on the skull below him again

It may have been the fourth time, or the fifth, or even the sixth

He wasn't sure, he'd lost count, he just knew that he had gone into something of a frenzy after peircing his claws through the guy's gut and forcing him away

The first crack against his head had been self-defense

The second insurance

The third certainty

And from there....

From there it was just violence

"Stiles stop,"

He didn't hear Derek's voice, he couldn't hear much of anything in this state

"Stiles stop!!"

But he could feel

He could feel Derek's arms wrapping around his waist, feel his lover's beard scrubbing up against the skin of his throat, feel his hot breath on the back of his neck

Derek wanted him to stop...

He had lost it, he had just... he had just lost it....

He dropped the bat slowly, sniffing slightly as his hands shook, moving to gently wrap his fingers around Derek's arm, swallowing tightly, trying to steady himself, to pull him back off of the edge, away from the ledge

He couldn't let himself get that way

He couldn't let it go there

"What happened?" Stiles asked slowly, quietly, his voice rasping as he sank backwards and allowed his weight to rest against Derek, closing his eyes just breifly, just long enough to see something other than blood, before shaking his head and forcing to right himself again

"How did you get caught?"

"He... I don't know," Derek muttered quietly, shifting uncomfortably as he started unraveling the rope that had been around his arms, keeping him tied up and in place

Rope really wasn't a problem for him, but he had needed to wait for the right opportunity to break free or the guy would have batted him anyway

"I was looking for that stream we found yesterday, he called out for help and then the next thing I knew... I blacked out, he must have hit me.. I woke up tied and on the ground and he was trying to get me to tell him where camp was,"

So that was why he hadn't just killed Derek when he had the chance...

Stiles nodded slowly, picking up the bat- his bat- and staring at the blood covering it

It was starting to stain, there was so much

He took a handkerchief out of his pocket, wordlessly starting to wipe up the worst of the blood, drying it as much as he could before swinging the bat easily back over his shoulder and turning his attention back to his boyfreind

"We should go, it isn't safe here anymore,"

Derek gave a quick, nauseated glance towards the corpse on the ground, far too destroyed to ever come back to life- thankfully

"Yeah," he agreed quietly, looping his fingers gently through his partner's and starting to walk back towards camp

"I'll say...."

\--

**Present day....**

\--

"Do you hear that?"

Derek gave a quick nod, his jaw tight, his eyes steady and focused as the two of them crept along the road

The problem with this apocalypse- besides the obvious- was how impossible it had started getting to sniff their way out of situations

There was such a constant stench of death and decay in the air, especially in places like this that were littered with corpses from one end of the road to the next, that it was often hard to get a scent of anything else

That meant that his naturally advanced senses were handicapped, in some ways

He couldn't tell one scent from another, not distantly anyway, not unless it was right under his nose or they were in an area like the forest that had seen far less dead folks than others

He was sure that his nose would adjust, senses always did and it was really just a matter of time now, but... he wished it would hurry up already so he could have his full senses back

And now, when he needed them most...

"What do you think it is?" Stiles pressed quietly, watching with raised eyebrows and an equally raised gun as the two of them slowly approached the car, the sound of some sort of movement, a slight digging maybe, coming from the vehicle

"I don't know... it has a heartbeat though, I can promise that," Derek muttered back under his breath

He could hear the heart of whatever the creature was beating, it was quicker than a normal human's but it wasn't high and rabbity like a raccoon's or a squirrel's, and anyway, the movement was far too big and noisy to have been made by something so small

Derek pressed a finger to his lips, silently telling Stiles to be quiet as he finally decided to take the leap and rush towards the hood of the car, his gun perfectly positioned as he peered around the corner and saw- ...

....

"A... dog....?"

\--

**57 days ago....**

\--

"Can we atleast agree that there are some lines we won't cross?"

Stiles couldn't believe he had already been reduced to eating baby food- _freaking **disgusting**_ \- but they were hungry and the first store they'd found for miles had already been picked through pretty thoroughly

That was why they were currently sitting here doing .... what they were doing

"I'll never hurt a dog," Derek agreed slowly, taking a sip of the orange soda he had found- hey, the store hadn't been _completely_ raided yet, as it were

"Dude, same, dogs are the BEST of everything, if we ever find a dog, you've gotta promise we'll take it with us,"

"I wouldn't go _that_ far yet, what if the dog already has someone?"

"Ok," Stiles nodded slowly, taking that into consideration as he set the jar of mashed carrots- seriously _gross_ \- on the floor and leaned back against the shelves behind him

"I take that point, but if we find a stray, and the do _needs_ us, you can't really be heartless enough to just ... leave the poor creature can you?"

Derek snorted, a small grin on his face as he forced himself to his feet, his eyes warm and amused as he reached down to gently help pull Stiles up as well

"Right, if we ever find a dog, and the dog doesn't belong to anyone and isn't trying to kill us, we'll bring the dog with us, fair?"

"Totally," Stiles agreed with a nod, suddenly moving away from his companion and making his way down a different aisle

"Where are you going?" Derek frowned, leaning up against the shelf beside him

"To get some dog treats, you know, just in case? Treats, a leash, a collar..."

"You are REALLY taking this too far for something that might not ever happen,"

"But if it DOES happen, I want to be prepared,"

Derek snorted in amusement, shaking his head, only to pause suddenly and perk up

"Hm? Derek?" Stiles called out, noticing that he was clearly pretty... distracted....

"Do yo-"

"Stay here," Derek ordered suddenly

"What? Derek!!"

Before Stiles could even fully register what happened, his partner had taken off out of the store, leaving Stiles to curse as he rushed back to where he had been sitting, grabbing his baseball bat and chasing after the other

There was a herd outside

A small one, maybe... ten, maybe fifteen, but... it was a herd never the less

Derek was taking them out one by one with his dagger, slashing and cutting, occasionally firing his gun, and Stiles was just trying to keep up, just trying to fight through the crowd of corpses to get to his freind

He snarled as he brought the bat down against a zombie's head, cursing under his breath and pausing, his blood going cold, out the loud scream that echoed from behind him

Slowly, he turned around, his hands shaking as he took in the sight of Derek peeling a corpse off of him...

And revealing the bitemark that now marred his arm....

\--

**Present day....**

\--

"This has to be a good sign,"

"You think so?" Derek asked with a small smirk, his eyes full of amusement as he walked alongside Stiles and their new dog

Stiles wanted to name her Michonne

Derek thought he had a bad sense of humor but he wasn't going to argue, he kind of liked the name anyhow

"You think finding a random dog scavenging an old car is a good sign? Of what?" Derek snorted back

"Of things turning around, taking a better turn, don't you think? I mean after all this time we finally found a dog-"

"We weren't _looking_ for a dog,"

"-so I feel like it's only logical that we're getting closer to finding.... someone,"

Maybe he was right

In the spirit of honesty, Derek really hoped that he was

He was tired of this, this... constant mission that kept coming up short

He was tired of not knowing what happened to his sister and he was tired of watching Stiles break down everytime he went down the emotional slope of maybe-but-not-really finding his father

Stiles had freinds that he wanted to find, although none of them were as high up on his priority list as his father, obviously, but...

It was starting to concern Derek that they hadn't found anyone

No one they were searching for, no one they had known before... all of this...

And he just hoped, desperately and sincerely, that Stiles was right with his assumption- that it was a good sign

That sooner, rather than later, they would find the people they were searching for

\--

**57 days ago...**

\--

"I just... don't understand,"

Stiles couldn't stop staring at Derek's arm

He couldn't stop staring at the blood, at the skin, at where the teeth had sunk into his freind's flesh...

"How did it heal?"

He couldn't stop staring at a bitemark that was no longer there

"I... had wondered if this would be the case but I couldn't be sure,"

That was... not what Stiles was expecting to hear- _at all_

"What are you talking about?"

Derek went quiet for a short moment, slowly pulling his legs up to his chest and closing his eyes

And when he opened them again, staring up at Stiles, they were glowing bright red

"I... don't understand,"

Derek shrugged slightly, blinking his eyes shut as they returned to their usual hazel-green

"I... I'm not human, Stiles," he said quietly

"The virus only affects humans, it looks like, so... it won't have any impact on me,"

"You're immune..." Stiles concluded quietly, his eyes shifting down to the blank space of skin on Derek's arm once more

That... made sense, atleast as to why it had healed like that...

"I wasn't sure if I was or not but... it looks like that's the case yeah,"

"So... if you aren't human, then what are you?"

Derek's lips twitched up into a grin, his face settling into something a little bit more relaxed now

"Ever hear of werewolves?"

"... You're kidding, right?"

"What, so zombies can be real but not werewolves?"

"... Fair point,"

Derek snorted playfully, leaning back against the wall of the building behind them and staring up at the sky

It would be dark soon, they needed to get moving again so they could find a decent place to sleep for the night

"So is Cora....?"

"Yep,"

"How do .. I mean... how does it.. work? With... can you like, bite or scratch someone and turn them into one?"

"If you're asking if I can transfer my immunity to you-"

"That isn't what I wa-"

"I can,"

There was a quiet, a silence, that fell between them in that moment as Derek reached out and very gently took Stiles by the hand, pulling him just a little bit closer, so that their faces were only a few inches apart now

"I wanted to offer sooner but... I wasn't sure if it would work or not, I didn't want to get your hopes up for something that might not be true, and besides... there are some people who would rather die than be what I am,"

"Seriously?" Stiles asked with a deep frown

He wanted to ask more about that, but the look in Derek's eyes told him that it was too sensitive of a topic for now, he needed to wait, he could ask another time

"Are you sure you want this?" Derek asked quietly

Stiles snorted, a grin pulling at his lips as he gently cupped his companion's face

"That's like asking a drowning man if he's sure he wants a life-vest.... ofcourse I'm sure,"

The look on Derek's face was soft, gently, and he was exceedingly relieved that they were on the same page as the other man- the werewolf- leaned in closer, gently pressing his lips against Stiles', for a long, slow moment

Stiles inhaled through his nose, closing his eyes peacefully

Something told him that even if the world hadn't ended, even if he didn't need the immunity from the virus that Derek was offering, he would take the bite- or scratch, or whatever it was- anyway

If he could stay with Derek longer that way, then what would he have to lose?

\--

**Present day....**

\--

Ghost towns weren't an exception, they were a rule

It didn't surprise them at all to come across the remains of what was once probably a nice neighborhood

Stiles just hoped that it hadn't been completely wiped clean of supplies, that they could gleam atleast _some_ kind of use out of this place

But even if they didn't, he supposed it would be worth it just to have a real house and a real bed to sleep in for the night

They had enough food and water to last them for a few days, so spending the night seemed like the most constructive thing to do, in particular with sunset being right around the corner

And atleast there were no zombies

"Where should we start? I'm thinking the red house on the left,"

Derek nodded slowly, only to suddenly pause and draw his gun, turning on his heel and pointing it towards the house across from them, eyes narrowed tightly and grip sturdy on his weapon

Stiles reacted the same way, drawing his gun as well and copying Derek, his free hand wrapped tightly around their new dog's leash as he stepped closer to his boyfreind

"We know you're there, it'd be better if you came out now,"

"I'd listen to him if I were you, hes got a happy trigger finger!" Stiles shouted, hoping to add to the intimidation atleast a little bit

He could hear the other heartbeat now that he was concentrating, it sounded erratic and heavy, panicked mixed with excited and hopefull

.. Huh...

He could hear footsteps coming around the corner, watching as someone's foot emerged from around the corner of the house, followed by a leg, and then-....

"Dad....?"

The man looked up from the ground, an expression of releif and disbeleif and joy spreading out over his face as Stiles' presence sank in

"It's good to see you son," he breathed

Stiles dropped the gun and the leash, racing forward and slamming into his father in a tight, desperate hug

It was taking everything- _everything_ in him not to burst into tears but... he was just so happy, so happy that he couldn't even put it into words

"Leave it to you to use the apocalypse as an excuse to finally get a dog huh?" the sheriff teased lightly

Stiles barked out a slight laugh, shaking his head and slowly pulling back, nodding for Derek to come closer- and to bring Michonne too, ofcourse

"And I see you have a freind too,"

"Yeah," Stiles said with a slight laugh, hurrying to grab Derek's hand

"More than just a freind actually,"

Judging by the look on his face, that seemed to take his father by surprise

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah," Stiles nodded, squeezing Derek's hand and looking back up at the sheriff

"We've got alot to talk about, but... we have time,"

The world was over, they had nothing but time now


End file.
